It’s kind of unfair to compare a Honda Accord to a Dodge Charger. The first is a mid-size sedan aimed at budget-conscious consumers, whereas the second is a large, performance-oriented sedan (still relatively budget-friendly), about the same size as a Toyota Avalon or a Nissan Maxima. The Accord meanwhile is a Camry-sized car.
Dimensions aside, there’s also a massive gap between them when it comes to speed. The best you can do with the Accord if you want to accelerate quickly is go for the 2.0-liter VTEC turbocharged four-cylinder unit, generating 252 hp (255 ps) and 273 lb-ft (370 Nm) of torque. Everything is then transferred to the road via the carmaker’s 10-speed automatic gearbox.
With the Charger, you can’t even find an engine smaller than the entry-level 3.6-liter Pentastar V6 unit, which produces 300 hp (304 ps) and 264 lb-ft (358 Nm) of torque. Still, that Accord would have a much better chance of defeating a V6-powered Charger than basically any other specification available to Dodge buyers.
Alas, that wasn’t to be, and this particular Accord 2.0T Sport model found itself lined up alongside a 2020 Charger SRT 392 for a short 1/8-mile sprint. The SRT 392 is, of course, powered by a 6.4-liter HEMI V8 engine and while it’s not supercharged like the one in the Hellcat, it still produces a hefty 485 hp (492 ps) and 475 lb-ft (644 Nm) of torque.
If you’re just going to 60 mph (97 kph), the Charger SRT 392 is about 1.5 seconds quicker than the Accord 2.0T, which is a considerable amount of time when you’re in a hurry to cross a finish line.
In the end, the Honda stood no chance. It did put up a solid fight in the first race, after the Charger struggled to put its power down, but the former still lost by about 0.2 seconds. The Charger then got off to a better start in the second race and beat the Accord by over half a second, which is an eternity on the drag strip.
With the Charger, you can’t even find an engine smaller than the entry-level 3.6-liter Pentastar V6 unit, which produces 300 hp (304 ps) and 264 lb-ft (358 Nm) of torque. Still, that Accord would have a much better chance of defeating a V6-powered Charger than basically any other specification available to Dodge buyers.
Alas, that wasn’t to be, and this particular Accord 2.0T Sport model found itself lined up alongside a 2020 Charger SRT 392 for a short 1/8-mile sprint. The SRT 392 is, of course, powered by a 6.4-liter HEMI V8 engine and while it’s not supercharged like the one in the Hellcat, it still produces a hefty 485 hp (492 ps) and 475 lb-ft (644 Nm) of torque.
If you’re just going to 60 mph (97 kph), the Charger SRT 392 is about 1.5 seconds quicker than the Accord 2.0T, which is a considerable amount of time when you’re in a hurry to cross a finish line.
In the end, the Honda stood no chance. It did put up a solid fight in the first race, after the Charger struggled to put its power down, but the former still lost by about 0.2 seconds. The Charger then got off to a better start in the second race and beat the Accord by over half a second, which is an eternity on the drag strip.